Alaska 2019-08

In the morning, we got up early to witness the unveiling of the totem at the Yukon Government Center.  Jason played with a bighorn in front of the nearby Visitors Center, where you can find good wifi.

There were several speakers during the celebration.

Below is the Minister of Culture for the Yukon.

This is the granddaughter  and great-grandaughter of the original carver of the totem. They are from a British Columbia and members of a coastal tribe and were honorary guests for the unveiling of the original totem.  The great-granddaughter has taken full immersion classes in Tinglet culture and language and was extremely fluent.

The acutal unveiling included the artist, an elder and a represenative from the tribe.

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Jason posed with a chief, who’s dance troop also performed.  We learned that many tribal chiefs are women.

A group photo (for posterity) was called, everyone was invited, and Jason wound up in the middle of the group, with his new friend, Keith Wolf (to his right) and both the Yukon Culture Minister (to his left) and the Yukon goverment liason (to her left).  Jason is the honorary Tlingit in the red Mt. Batchler sweatshirt.

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The ceremony ended with a drum march, following the river boardwalk to the Tlingit Culture Centre.  Activities continued there for the remainder of the afternoon.  Cathy and Jason enjoyed the festivities and I proceeded back to the Visitor Centre to use the wifi.

In the morning we went to Skagway and stopped at this Tlingit Center near Carcross to see these totems, carved by Keith Wolfe and his son over the past several years.  This centre did not exist on our last visit here.

We had to take Jason to see Skagway’s most famous (infamous) citizen, Jefferson “Soapy” Smith.  Jason is pointing to where he thinks “Soapy” took one!

Here are other scenes of the pioneer graveyard in Skagway.

We followed Jason on a trail leading up to these falls, just behind the cemetary.  They were named for Frank Reid the vigilante, who killed Smith in a shootout on the Juneau wharf.  He was also fatally wounded and died twelve days later and is buried with more honors in a more prominent place in the graveyard.  Come to find out, he was also wanted for a murder in the lower 48.

Here is the White Pass and Yukon Route train coming down the hill from the pass.

Since is was unloading passangers near the cruise ship terminal and blocking the street for block, I took this shot of Jason (and got immediately admonished by a officer for being too close to the train).  Oh well, it is better to ask forgiveness.

Jason stood at a crossroad, in the middle of Skagway!

Goof’n in the National Park office while picking up his Junior Ranger workbook.

Goof’n again on a statue of a miner and his pack dog.

We found this beautifully restored pickup outside an antique shop.  Too bad it was a Chevy but it was not for sale.  It would have been a keeper.

This is the historic Moore homestead.  Moore was the first landowner in what was to become Skagway and his original home is located directly behind this ‘newer’ home.  He built the first dock here but the frenzy of the gold discovery in the Yukon attracted thousands of stampedrs, which overran his homestead and he lost most of his property.

This is the original Moore cottage.

Cathy checking in with the employment office.  Alas, not her kind of work.

We made the trip out to the avalanche graveyard and the old town of Dyea, the debarkation point for the Chilkoot Trail, leading the miners over the pass and to Lake Bennet, Carcross and finally Dawson City.

I would like to make this hike in a year or two.  We sat through the mandatory bear awareness meeting and video held by the U.S. Park Service and obtained US trail information along with contact information from the Parks Canada Agency (who manages the permits, passports etc. for the Canadian side of the trail).  It looks like a mid to late July timetable for best times to hike.

This is the start of the trail.  It looks easy (ha ha).